Machine Tools

ARTICLES ABOUT MACHINE TOOLS BY DATE - PAGE 3

Domestic orders for U.S. industrial tools in September rose 26.7 percent, to 3.6 million units from 2.9 million the previous month, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors Association. The value of total machine-tool orders climbed more than 57 percent, to $604.9 million from $384.3 million in August. Compared with September 1995, the value of the total orders jumped 74 percent. "September's strong consumption reflects the impact of activity from the International Manufacturing Technology Show, the nation's largest industrial trade show, which is held in September of even-number years," said Ralph J. Nappi, president of the distributors trade association.

Orders for U.S. machine tools reached an estimated $806.9 million in July as the number of units ordered dropped, the industry said in a report released Monday. Units ordered fell 9 percent, to 2.7 million in July from 2.9 million in June, said the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributor's Association. For June, the groups estimated that orders totaled $643.1 million. The June and July figures are based on an estimate of expected machine-tool orders.

Standing beside a computer-numerical-controlled milling and turning machine--a behemoth, humming apparatus that looks something like a cross between a street sweeper and an iron lung--Robert McGowan was worrying aloud about the future of American business and, by extension, the future of our civilization. He worried, to be exact, about hamburgers. "This machine cuts metal or plastic in any way you want--milled, drilled, bored, shaped, you name it," said McGowan, a salesman for Goss & DeLeeuw Machine Co., a Connecticut-based machine-tooling firm.

Orders for U.S. industrial tools dropped 11 percent in May from the previous month even as demand from abroad soared, the Association for Manufacturing Technology said. Total machine tool orders declined to $381.25 million in May after dipping to $428.55 million in April. Last month's orders, though tepid compared with the earlier months of 1996, were still 0.7 percent ahead of May 1995. "May orders continue a pace which, in the first five months of 1996, is almost 5 percent above last year's high levels," said AMT President Albert W. Moore.

It may not rank up there with this spring's other social events, but on Friday a South Side company is throwing a bash to celebrate what it calls an all-American first. Guests won't have any trouble spotting the honoree: It's as big as a house. More than a year in the making, the guest of honor is a machine tool. But this is no ordinary device. It is so agile it can allow one person to do the job of 24 and so fast it can stamp out a variety of parts for 3,000 automobiles a day. It is also a 2,500-ton monster so large it has to be disassembled and shipped in 50 pieces over a period of months.

Orders for U.S. industrial tools rose 18.6 percent in March from the month before, the Association for Manufacturing Technology said, suggesting that U.S. businesses are investing more in plant and equipment. Last month's machine tool orders reached their highest level since March of last year. "The pace of export order growth accelerated in March, driven primarily by two of our major export markets--Mexico and China," said AMT President Albert W. Moore. Domestic customers increased their orders by 11 percent last month while demand from abroad jumped 65 percent, the trade group's report showed.

Machine-tool orders to U.S. firms in February increased 9 percent, to $414.7 million from $379.5 million in the year-earlier month, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology. The orders, however, fell 10 percent from January's total of $461.6 million. For the first two months of the year, machine-tool orders rose 15 percent, to $876.3 million from $756.7 million in the year-earlier period, according to the association's monthly report. Meanwhile, February machine-tool shipments by U.S. firms jumped 43 percent, to $460.

What do you do when your industry is being hammered daily by foreign competitors who can make your product faster, better and cheaper? That was the problem facing Brian McLaughlin in 1987 when he was asked to lead Hurco Cos. out of a business trough that was on the verge of becoming a grave. "We were in big trouble in 1987," said McLaughlin, president and chief executive of the Indianapolis-based machine-tool manufacturer. "We were making defective products. We suffered from a lack of focus on the customer.